Impression Management

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What is Impression Management?

Impression Management is a conscious or subconscious process and technique of self-presentation through which individuals attempt to influence the perceptions of others about themselves, their abilities, or their achievements. It is based on influencing the perceptions of other people by expressing favorable aspects of yourself. It is a goal-directed conscious or unconscious attempt to influence the perceptions of other people about you (or a team, an object or an event) by regulating and controlling information and human behavior in social interaction.

The method of Impression Management has been developed by Ervin Goffman in his 1959 book “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”.

The author argues that as most social interaction requires immediate judgments, any individual introducing her/himself must focus on quickly providing a positive first impression by highlighting positive facets.

In Goffman's perspective Impression Management has much to do with a drama (a play): the actor, shaped by the environment and target audience, sees interaction as a performance. The objective of the performance is to provide the audience with an impression consistent with the desired goals of the actor. Goffman famously wrote in his book: "All the world is not, of course, a stage, but the crucial ways in which it isn't are not easy to specify."

Comparable to the Johari Window, Goffman distinguishes two different territories of our social behavior:

1. Frontstage: The set of actions individuals perform according to their fixed function in the society. It allows individuals to show their formal and public profile to those who observe the performance.
2. Backstage: The set of actions individuals perform "behind the scenes". An informal more relaxed and private zone of each individual. In this territory people don’t want or expect to be judged regarding their fixed function in the society. Backstage we are simultaneously safer and more vulnerable: It is here we change our mental, physical and moral "underwear". Backstage is thus a space for rest and "letting down one's guard", but also a space where one prepares oneself for frontstage performances.

Goffman believes that all our roles depend on the back region of an individual. And all front region roles can be sustained by keeping the audience out of the back region.

His concept is suitable for both individuals (E.g. Charismatic Leadership) and teams. Consider the example of a hotel. The front stage conduct of the team of receptionists has to be formal and aligned with defined rules, service standards and rituals. The same team, behind the scenes, can gather with a different purpose and relax.

In general, impression management theory holds that any individual or organization must establish and maintain impressions that are congruent with the perceptions they want to convey to their public. The idea that perception is reality is the basis for this sociological and social psychology theory, which is framed around the presumption that the other’s perceptions of you or your organization become the reality from which they form ideas and the basis for intended behaviors.

Typical Impression Management Tactics

• Behavioral Matching: The target of perception matches his/her behavior (body language) to that of the perceiver. Example: An employee tries to imitate his manager’s behavior by being modest and soft-spoken because his manager is modest and soft-spoken.
• Self-Promotion: The target tries to present her/himself in as positive a light as possible. Example: An employee reminds his manager about his past accomplishments and associates with co-workers who are evaluated highly.
• Conforming to Situational Norms: The target follows agreed-upon rules for behavior in the organization. Example: An employee stays late every night even if he has completed all of his assignments because staying late is one of the norms of his organization.
• Appreciating or Flattering Others: The target compliments the perceiver. This tactic works best when flattery is not extreme and when it involves a dimension important to the perceiver. Example: An employee compliments his manager on her excellent handling of a troublesome employee.
• Being Consistent: The target’s beliefs and behaviors are consistent. There is agreement between the target’s verbal and nonverbal behaviors. Example: An employee deliveres a message to his manager and looks him straight in the eye and has a sincere expression on his face.

Application Areas of Impression Management

• Nonverbal Communication: Body language, clothing, posture all speak volumes.
• Verbal Communication: Articulate speech and active listening create positive impressions.
• Self-Disclosure: Strategic sharing fosters connection and trust. Note that oversharing backfires.
• Association: Surrounding yourself with respected people enhances your image.

Impression management also plays an important role in Advertising and Public Relations. Beyond that, the significance of impression management is that it distorts empirical research methods such as Benchmarking and SERVQUAL and also it influences group processes such as Team Development and Brainstorming.

Forum Start a new topic about Impression Management Write here. Ask a question or explain something. Forum about Impression Management. 5 Communication Factors for Making a Good Impression Communication is key to effective leadership. It is important to create good impressions when you are communicating. The following five factors are essential in the creation of good impressions during... 23   14 comments Signals Used to Communicate Leadership Status People constantly send sIgnals or... 16   7 comments How to Put Yourself in the Spotlight at Work? In the work environment you want to be perceived as both COMPETENT and LIKABLE. But when you over-promote yourself you will quickly be perceived as a braggart or a a show-off. The extent to which this... 12   4 comments Careful with Hiding your Success and Being Modest Being modest about your achievements or successes may seem like a nice trait to most people, depending on the culture perhaps. But Roberts et al. found from 8 experiments, in both public and private ... 11   13 comments Quotes on Impression Management. Quotations Below some remarkable, humorous quotes by famous persons related to the impressions people or organizations are trying to give to other people or the public... "You never get a second chance to ma... 5

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Information Sources Various sources of information regarding Impression Management. Here you will find powerpoints, videos, news, etc. to use in your own lectures and workshops. Communication Essentials: Non-verbal, Verbal and Listening Skills Communication Skills, Personal Skills, Confidence, Power, Influence, Sincerity, Trust Presentation about communication skills, including non-verbal and verbal communication and listening skills. The present... Introduction to Impression Management Impression Management Presentation about Impression Management (IM), including the following sections: 1. Towards a Definition 2. IM Techniq... All the World is a Stage (Shakespeare) Impression Management, Communication Explanation of the main ideas of sociologist Erving Goffman regarding Impression Management. Shakespeare wrote: "A... Body Language Tips Giving Presentations, Public Speaking, Nonverbal Communication Communication Coach Alex Lyon talks about giving presentations and public speaking. Non verbal communication and body la... Impression Management, Perception and Attribution Theory Impression Management, Self Presentation about impression management and person perception, including the following sections: 1. Overview 2. Strat...

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